Recently LTTE asked Indian government to forget the past. Forgetting the past is the most dangerous malaise we face in the contemporary world. The memories of atrocities shouldn’t be allowed to be forgotten. That will be most tragic. Remembering the past is the most crucial thing for healthy development of society. When we forget History, it tends to repeat itself. And when it repeats it is more vicious. It takes revenge on our memories, mocking our future. Forgetting is crueler than cruelty itself. This is what these people want; to forget the past. Forgetting makes cruelty thrive. Memories are needed for constant reminder and vigilance. It is also important to pass on these memories to the next generation so as to make them understand the threats we face. Also understanding the past in present context is equally important.
There is always an attempt to obfuscate the truth by introducing an element of ambiguity. Like ‘how do we know what is true?’ or ‘we cannot be sure’. These questions make sense when directed as metaphysical queries but not otherwise (in science the truth is included as what Darwin referred as ‘providential truth’. This helps people to be grounded). It is a dangerous attempt to deny truth for narrow gains of elite. And many in print media columns and TV studios do bring these as alternative world view and hence the attempt for ‘balanced’ approach (and wriggling space for some Jokers). Future is very much dependent on fragility of the past. You miss it you will break it.
Remember the Truth
We remember them
colonizing people, dividing places, bartering faith.
Killing Jews, and Muslims, and Hindus
and Christians, and Buddhists, and children, and infirm.
Yes we remember.
We remember them
gassing people in Auschwitz,
vaporizing them in Hiroshima.
Chasing with machetes and sickle
in Kigali, in Darfur, in Ahmedabad
and in lanes of other places.
Yes we remember.
We remember them
cluster bombing people with F-16s and missiles
in Baghdad, in Kabul, in Bosnia
blasting them with RDX, with land mines
in Colombo, in Jerusalem, in Palestine
and in lanes of other places.
Yes we remember.
We remember them
imprisoning Suu ki and Mandela
shooting down Gandhi, and King
and leaders who threaten
the devil which poison peoples mind with hatred
and make merry their misery.
Yes we remember.
O yah we very well remember the Truth.
Post Script: negotiations are important. And if talks with LTTE can bring peace in Sri Lanka, so be it. But forgetting is dangerous.
I have been extremely pained by the killings in Srilanka. It is so much like Kerala that it feels as if happening here, very near by. And it is nearby; Srilanka is not far from kerala.
It has close historical and cultural links with kerala. Infact in mid 1940s the diwan of kerala did toy with the idea of Travancore joining Srilanka!!. I have seen many srilankan movies; sinhala has some similarity (very very sketchy though but the people and their nuances are quite similar) with Malayalam. So the bomb blasts and killings do disturb. I was pushed into happenings in srilanka quite early as many Army men (posted in pune) whom I know had gone to srilanka as part of that disastrous and ill-conceived IPKF mission (under Gen. Kalkath, if I recall correctly. Many were killed. And their children got into good professional colleges under killed-in-action quota). And after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, kerala was on high alert. And everyone was asking “so where is shivrasan?”. Almost a decade back I was so much into srilanka that I read every literature available. Essays, Novels, short stories, poems….and even got to know few artists and journalists, who had come to India (they say I do look like a srilankan!!!. Wherever I go I do like to look like the inhabitants except in North east where I am bengali, here I sometimes also morph into malayalee Christian-quite easy that one). Off course I didn’t do these for any specific purpose; it is just that I was too upset by the happening in this beautiful island that I had to know everything concerning it. There is an immediate need for genuine effort for peace in here. This is being going on for long time. Time to stop. We need new and young negotiators with open minds on both the sides. The old people tend to be stuck in their ego trap and past experience.
There is always an attempt to obfuscate the truth by introducing an element of ambiguity. Like ‘how do we know what is true?’ or ‘we cannot be sure’. These questions make sense when directed as metaphysical queries but not otherwise (in science the truth is included as what Darwin referred as ‘providential truth’. This helps people to be grounded). It is a dangerous attempt to deny truth for narrow gains of elite. And many in print media columns and TV studios do bring these as alternative world view and hence the attempt for ‘balanced’ approach (and wriggling space for some Jokers). Future is very much dependent on fragility of the past. You miss it you will break it.
Remember the Truth
We remember them
colonizing people, dividing places, bartering faith.
Killing Jews, and Muslims, and Hindus
and Christians, and Buddhists, and children, and infirm.
Yes we remember.
We remember them
gassing people in Auschwitz,
vaporizing them in Hiroshima.
Chasing with machetes and sickle
in Kigali, in Darfur, in Ahmedabad
and in lanes of other places.
Yes we remember.
We remember them
cluster bombing people with F-16s and missiles
in Baghdad, in Kabul, in Bosnia
blasting them with RDX, with land mines
in Colombo, in Jerusalem, in Palestine
and in lanes of other places.
Yes we remember.
We remember them
imprisoning Suu ki and Mandela
shooting down Gandhi, and King
and leaders who threaten
the devil which poison peoples mind with hatred
and make merry their misery.
Yes we remember.
O yah we very well remember the Truth.
Post Script: negotiations are important. And if talks with LTTE can bring peace in Sri Lanka, so be it. But forgetting is dangerous.
I have been extremely pained by the killings in Srilanka. It is so much like Kerala that it feels as if happening here, very near by. And it is nearby; Srilanka is not far from kerala.
It has close historical and cultural links with kerala. Infact in mid 1940s the diwan of kerala did toy with the idea of Travancore joining Srilanka!!. I have seen many srilankan movies; sinhala has some similarity (very very sketchy though but the people and their nuances are quite similar) with Malayalam. So the bomb blasts and killings do disturb. I was pushed into happenings in srilanka quite early as many Army men (posted in pune) whom I know had gone to srilanka as part of that disastrous and ill-conceived IPKF mission (under Gen. Kalkath, if I recall correctly. Many were killed. And their children got into good professional colleges under killed-in-action quota). And after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, kerala was on high alert. And everyone was asking “so where is shivrasan?”. Almost a decade back I was so much into srilanka that I read every literature available. Essays, Novels, short stories, poems….and even got to know few artists and journalists, who had come to India (they say I do look like a srilankan!!!. Wherever I go I do like to look like the inhabitants except in North east where I am bengali, here I sometimes also morph into malayalee Christian-quite easy that one). Off course I didn’t do these for any specific purpose; it is just that I was too upset by the happening in this beautiful island that I had to know everything concerning it. There is an immediate need for genuine effort for peace in here. This is being going on for long time. Time to stop. We need new and young negotiators with open minds on both the sides. The old people tend to be stuck in their ego trap and past experience.
